I first learned of the Raising Women’s Voices conference through a contact at MergerWatch, an organization that is working in part on issue of mergers between religious and secular hospitals, and fighting for women to retain access to reproductive health services when such mergers occur. The MergerWatch website is well worth a look if you’re interested in how religious health restrictions affect not just reproductive health, but end-of-life decisions, HIV/AIDS care, LGBT care, medical research, and other issues.

The groups are hosting a conference this spring in Boston. The invitation:

Hear us Now! Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need

Join the National Women’s Health Network and more than 300 other activists, mothers, daughters, sisters, caretakers, consumers and community leaders for this national conference to learn and strategize about how we can get quality, affordable health care for all. Together we will discuss and plan for health care reform that will meet the needs of women and families.

tried to find more specifics at their site about “network of trained and outspoken women who are mobilized to work for a health care system”–very ambitious. wonder if that integrates issues of aging women and their need to have bigger voices on their own behalf.

NYC NOW has just begun “senior issues” group which i convinced to work on a new, older women verson of 1977 baltimore NOW “10 questions to ask your ob-gyn.” questions for doctors, not specialists, of course. will send you link from post i did it last year.

I noticed one commenter asking about whether aging will be addressed. The quick answer is yes, we do have a workshop planned entitled “Health Challenges Of
Women As We Age.” In fact we are looking for a moderator and another speaker for that so if Naomi or you know of anyone who would be interested we would be happy to hear from you!

Again thank you for the plug. Watch for more announcements as we confirm more speakers and get the program agenda up on the RWV website…